A referral from a close friend helped kinesiology graduate Angelica Razo ’16 land her first position with Mi Familia Vota, leading the organization’s youth leadership program in Houston. “I had little to no community organizing or civic engagement experience at that time,” Angelica said. “But my former boss was really impressed by my Rice leadership experience in HACER, Alternative Spring Break and internships that involved event coordination, project management, research and social justice.” Now, she serves as their Texas State Director where she oversees the state’s operations to increase political representation and power for the Latinx community through electoral, advocacy and community organizing strategies.

Angelica’s main tip for current Rice students exploring potential career paths and looking for jobs is to start building your network now. “Don’t be intimidated by networking! I know I was because I thought networking was impressing people in fancy suits, and I was so wrong! Reach out to people early on to ask questions about their career path, industry and their recommendations for jobs in their sector.” She also recommends focusing on skills and interests that you’re looking for in a position rather than a certain name — since different companies use a variety of position titles, you may not be optimizing your job search if you limit yourself to specific position names.

As for the non-profit sector, Angelica again emphasizes the importance of developing a strong network. “There’s a lot of sharing of open job opportunities through people’s email inbox. I love being able to send potential job opportunities to students that I’ve talked to — sometimes it’s shortly after we’ve talked, other times it’s a few months down the road,” she said. Another tip is to remember that not all organizations hire with the academic timeline in mind, so starting your search earlier and negotiating a start date or being patient with an unexpected timeline might be necessary.

Angelica has advice to help you navigate Career and Internship Expos as well. “I used to get intimidated by these events because I had the wrong association with them. Remember, these folks are also looking to impress YOU and answer YOUR questions,” she said. She also urges students to not be afraid of venturing out of their comfort zone. “We often limit ourselves by industry (i.e., STEM or humanities), but most organizations have a wide spectrum of “brain types” so it doesn’t hurt to connect with various industries.”